


The Birds and the Bees

by ithilien22



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland Friendship, Brotherly Bonding, Gen, Minor Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-05 01:50:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6684439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ithilien22/pseuds/ithilien22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jace is a terrible brother. Except maybe he gives sort of good pep talks. Sometimes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Birds and the Bees

**Author's Note:**

> This fic basically ignores Jace's whole plotline at the end of season one. So just imagine that it takes place far enough in the future that Jace is back at the institute (ie. after he came to his senses or, let's be real, after Clary and Alec went and rescued his stupid ass).

It's almost relaxing, in a weird way. Sparring with Jace he feels focused; he's fully present in the moment. All the tension and distractions just melt away and his instincts and training take over. Adrenaline and muscle memory and the steady beat of Jace's heart through the parabatai bond - it's calming. It makes Alec feel more centered.

Of course, that's all shattered when Jace reaches out a hand to help him back up after a particularly well-timed hook kick and casually asks, "So how're things going, you know, with Magnus?"

Alec is caught off guard enough that he stammers a bit before managing, "it's fine. He's... things are fine."

Jace's eyebrow quirks up skeptically and Alec can already feel a traitorous blush creeping up his neck. He resists the urge to rub at it and goes to grab his water bottle instead, so he has something to do with his hands. He hopes maybe Jace will just drop it, but luck has never been on his side. 

"Dude, what's wrong?" Jace grabs his own water bottle and moves to take a seat on the warm up bench near the front of the training room. Alec takes a long gulp of water to avoid answering, but he can feel the blush working its way up to his face now so he knows that there's no escaping this conversation. After a beat, Jace makes a face that Alec can't decipher, and adds, "Is it a sex thing?"

Alec chokes on his water. 

Jace must take this as some sort of affirmative because his expression morphs into what can only be described as a shit-eating grin. 

"I knew it. I've heard warlocks are into some seriously kinky shit. Does he use like, sex magic when you guys... you know?"

Alec has no idea how to respond to _that_ , so he settles for clearing his throat again and scowling in Jace's general direction. After a moment, he sighs deeply and stutters out, "that's not... we're not. We. We haven't even had sex."

He senses immediately that this was the wrong thing to say to end this line of questioning, but it's too late - the words are already out now and it's not like he can shove them back in. Jace looks perplexed.

"What? Why not?"

Alec rubs at the back of his neck, subconsciously scrubbing at the source of his now prevailing blush, before he realizes what he's doing and drops his hand sheepishly. 

"No offense, but I'm not going to talk about this with you," he tells Jace. 

Jace shrugs.

"I mean, if you'd rather talk to Izzy about it..." He trails off purposely to let the idea sink in. Alec grimaces.

"Look, it's not that big of a deal," he hedges. "It just hasn't happened yet. That's it."

Jace isn't buying it. He continues to push, "because of him? Or because of you?" 

Alec sighs. He hates Jace so much right now. 

"I just. Magnus has been with a lot of people," Alec pauses, and then quickly backpedals, realizing how that sounds, "I just mean he's lived a long time! Of course he's been with other people. That's... normal. But I'm not... I haven't. I. I mean I'm..."

Thankfully, Jace cuts him off before he can continue to embarrass himself.

"You're nervous." It isn't a question.

Alec runs a hand through his hair and finally moves to sit beside Jace on the bench. "What if I'm not any good at it?" he asks into his hands, voice low.

"Come on," Jace says, "it's gotta be way easier with a guy."

Alec snorts, looking up from his hands at Jace in disbelief. "How do you figure?"

"'Cause girls, you know, they're... tricky," Jace shrugs. "It's not always easy to tell if they're _enjoying themselves_. But like, you're not gonna have that problem with Magnus, because it's not like you can't tell with a guy."

Alec makes a noise like he's going to interrupt - anything to make this conversation end, really - but Jace barrels on.

"So there's really no way you can screw it up, dude. If something's... _not working_ , then just try something else."

Alec isn't about to actually admit it, but talking about this with Jace is actually starting to make him feel slightly better about the whole thing. His advice does sort of make sense, after all.

But - "I wouldn't even know what to try to begin with."

"Do you need me to draw you a diagram?" Jace asks facetiously, eyebrow quirking up again. Alec resists the urge to punch him. Barely.

"Yeah, thanks Jace," Alec bites out sarcastically. "I understand the mechanics of how sex works. I'm a virgin, not an idiot."

Jace laughs in a delighted sort of way. Alec replays what he's just said and grimaces. 

"Look, I was nervous the first time too," Jace tells him. His voice is pitched a little lower now, but he's still smiling. "Everybody is. And honestly? It was kind of awkward. But it was also _awesome_. So just stop overthinking it."

He downs the rest of his water and moves to stand from the bench. Alec has never been so relieved for a conversation to end. 

"Jace," Alec stops him as he moves to leave the training room. He wants to be clear on something. "We are never talking about this again."

Jace laughs again, loud and bright. He doesn't respond, but Alec can still hear him laughing as he makes his way back into the institute. 

Alec shakes his head and moves to follow him out. If the pressure in his chest feels slightly lessened, well, he'll just attribute that to a solid training session.


End file.
